1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an antihepatopathic agent. More particularly, it relates to a useful pharmaceutical composition for the prevention and treatment of hepatopathy which contains S-(.alpha.,.beta.-dicarboxyethyl)glutathione which is found in the mammalian body, or an ester derivatives thereof, either in the free form or in a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many of the antihepatopathic agents so far used contain the group SH. Cysteine and glutathione are typical examples. However, while these agents produce a detoxicating effect owing to their active SH group, they have a disadvantage in that the active SH group reduces the efficacy of a drug or drugs used concomitantly.
The present inventors made intensive investigations in search of potent antihepatopathic compounds having no active SH group, hence having no such disadvantage as mentioned above and, as a result, found that S-(.alpha.,.beta.-dicarboxyethyl)glutathione, which is a substance present in the mammalian body, and ester derivatives thereof unexpectedly have very potent antihepatopathic activity and at the same time have a high level of safety. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of the above findings.